


The Brink of Madness

by Sevv7



Series: Envy Had Forgotten (Canon Derivative AU) [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: A prisoner, A visitor, Angst, Other, and some unresolved feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 06:12:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14326317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sevv7/pseuds/Sevv7
Summary: Envy pays Kimblee a visit during his time in prison and laments on the effect it has had on the once fearsome Alchemist. Very mild Kimvy.





	The Brink of Madness

It had been a long time coming. Envy had gotten as far as the prison gate at least three times before, but had never made it inside. Now, as they walked through the dark corridor disguised as a young female prison officer, the familiar feeling of panic was creeping back.

It had been years since they had last seen him. Solf J. Kimblee. The Crimson Lotus Alchemist.

At the end of the war Kimblee had caused quite a lot of damage in order to hang onto the Philosopher's stone he had been given, and it was his possession of that stone that Envy had used to rationalise to Father why they would need to check in from time to time. Father didn't need to know about their three failed attempts to visit…

The prison was unusually quiet. There was a stillness to the air that one only felt at night. The soft pad of Envy's feet was the only discernible sound.

Envy paused outside of the cell they had been looking for, eyes searching for a shape in the darkness. They weren't sure that they were ready for what they would find. Envy had been around for long enough to see how prison could change a person, but Kimblee had always been stronger than the average human. So they hoped…

 _Hoped for what_? Envy wondered. Hoped he would still be the same as before? Envy wasn't sure if they really wanted that. Wouldn't everything be so much simpler if the alchemist they had known in Ishval was gone?

Envy's eyes pierced through the darkness to find that the bed by the wall was empty. Instead, as they adjusted to the dark, Envy became aware of a figure sitting on the floor on the opposite side of the room.

"Kimblee." The word came out as a whisper, though in truth Envy hadn't meant to speak at all.

The man on the floor looked up suddenly. Envy saw a glint of red flying up in the air, seemingly disappearing into the man's mouth. It was Kimblee's trademark way of protecting his stone. Even in this hell hole, with no possible use for it, Kimblee still valued it above all else. That was one thing which hadn't changed, at least.

Staying in the shadows, Envy surveyed the cell silently. It was small and sparse with the only furniture being the narrow bed. Kimblee must hate it here. When Envy had known him during the war, Kimblee had delighted in his research. On those cool nights in the desert he was often found sitting with an old, leather bound tome, scratching new alchemic arrays into the sand and tracing them out on paper once perfected. Of course, none were as precious to him as the tattoos on his palms. He had been especially proud of those.

The longer Envy stood there, the more they were able to make out of the figure on the floor. He was smaller than Envy remembered. Maybe due to being underfed in prison, or maybe because, in the years of not seeing him, Envy had built him up to be slightly larger-than-life. Envy's most dominant memories of the man were of him arising at the top of a building, standing tall with arms outstretched and black hair whipping in the wind behind him, looking to the sky as his powerful explosions sounded all around him. There was something so pure about those memories. Envy couldn't recall ever seeing someone so full of sheer delight.

It was a far cry from the sorry figure before them.

Now accustomed to the dark, Envy could make out more details of the man. His hair, untied, hung loose and limp over his shoulders and his face was unshaven. Envy felt a spasm of equal parts pity and disgust. Worst of all were black shadows which hung under his eyes like tiny pits of despair.

Envy took an involuntary step back. Coming here had been a mistake.

"My my, who are you?" Kimblee's voice was dry and raspy, and came out almost in a cackle. He sounded psychotic.

Envy took another step back. They were sure there was no way they'd be recognised but their discomfort was growing exponentially.

"Now, don't be scared. Come closer, I'm perfectly harmless." Kimblee let out a short laugh and rattled his hands which were separated by being locked in a short plank of wood.

"I… I'm here for…" Envy's voice faltered. They shouldn't be here—everything was wrong.

"Shall I tell you a story?" Kimblee sang, more to himself than to Envy. "It's about the war. It's about how I caused an explosion so glorious it took out a whole street. Nothing was left standing. No buildings... no people. And the sound—oh, the sound! It was magnificent. A perfect harmony. You might say it was my finest work."

A small smile crept onto Envy's face. Fragments of the old Kimblee had survived, then. Envy wasn't sure what that meant. Was it likely they would ever have another use for him? Envy couldn't say.

Still, they had done what they had set out to do. The stone was safe, and Kimblee was… alive. There was no need to subject themself to staying any longer than necessary.

"Goodbye… Crimson Lotus Alchemist." Envy said softly. The use of Kimblee's full title was unplanned, but Envy had silent hopes that hearing it might spark a memory within this man of his former self.

Envy heard the gasp as they walked slowly back down the corridor. _Good_ , they thought to themself. Hopefully it had been enough to bring their one time acquaintance back from the brink of madness.

But only time would tell.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N This is sort of a prequel to my other fic 'Envy Had Forgotten'. I just wanted to write something a little different (and shorter) to practice writing these guys, and put Envy in a position where they might be a bit more sympathetic to Kimblee's human-ness, after all I think Envy knows what it's like to be alone in the dark for years on end, metaphorically speaking anyway.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of the characters.


End file.
